Google 'street view' maps coral reefs off Florida

US government researchers will apply “street view” mapping tools to underwater ecosystems in the Florida Keys this week in an effort to document coral reef health. The project is sponsored by the likes of insurance company Catlin and Google.

The rotating and panoramic images taken from the Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary will be available online this week,
according to AP, including some on Google Maps. This collection
will add to the around 400,000 images produced thus far of coral
reefs near Australia and the Caribbean.

The research aims to offer details about the state of coral
restoration, as well as to help scientists examine the effects of
warming ocean temperatures, pollution, and hurricanes on reefs,
officials said.

"This allows people who can't get underwater to understand
what we mean by putting up a special preservation area around
this particular spot," said Mitchell Tartt, chief of the
conservation science division at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries. Six NOAA officials are part of the underwater
training, AP reported.

The triple-lens-SVII cameras that will be used to capture
underwater scenes is the same technology used to produce Google
Street View images of areas across the globe. The cameras will be
strapped to scuba divers and powered by small motors.

In one hour, for example, each camera can capture images of an
area up to 20 times larger than traditional underwater
photography equipment, according to project director Richard
Vevers. The technology will also gather GPS data and patch
together images taken into panoramic, 360-degree views.

Co-sponsor of the venture, Catlin Seaview Survey, is funded by
Bermuda-based insurance giant Catlin. The Survey is a project to
document the state of coral reefs worldwide.

Images of reefs all over the world coming from other Catlin
surveys are being uploaded online to the Catlin Global Reef
Record. The survey’s smaller cameras are being used for targeted
projects at NOAA sanctuaries around the US.

Catlin’s sustainability director John Carroll said the insurance
company will benefit from the mapping, as climate change will
certainly impact many insurable assets.

"Clearly as an insurance company, we're keen to help manage
this risk because, you know, that's our business," Carroll
said.

Vital coral reefs around the world's oceans have been decimated
by global warming, pollution, and overfishing, to name a few
antagonists. Last month, scientists
said that the Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s east coast
is “in the worst state since records began,” and in 40
years large swathes of coral structures will be replaced by
seaweed and algae.

In the Caribbean, coral reefs are on course to disappear “in
the next 20 years," as human activity is killing off grazers
such as parrot fish and sea urchins which are vital for their
survival, the International Union for Conservation of Nature
recently
reported.